Ask Ars: will Bioshock Infinite be one long escort mission?

Bioshock Infinite is one of the most anticipated games in the industry, and fans are excited about Ken Levine and Irrational Games' return to the series they created. The problem is that blasted Elizabeth character who keeps popping up and getting scared... is the game going to be one long escort mission?

I liked the stories in bioshock, especially the first one. As long as it still feels like an action movie that you are in, great. And I don't mind sidekicks when done properly. It makes exploring strange new worlds a little less lonely. Boobarella is pretty easy on the eyes, anyway. ;o

I liked the stories in bioshock, especially the first one. As long as it still feels like an action movie that you are in, great. And I don't mind sidekicks when done properly. It makes exploring strange new worlds a little less lonely. Boobarella is pretty easy on the eyes, anyway. ;o

If it works out like Prince of Persia (2008) or Enslaved, then it might not be so bad.

Yea I was worried about it being bad in Prince of Persia (2008) but it worked out really well. Between the awesome banter and the simple but effective co-op moves they really managed to make it never feel like an escort mission. These things combined with the awesome art style makes this my favorite PoP game ever.

I don't think it worked out quite so well in Enslaved though. I kept running into spots where it seemed ok to leave the girl alone and then a few minutes later she would call out for help only to get killed like 4 seconds later. I haven't played much of it though so maybe it gets better later on.

"Bioshock Infinite is one of the most anticipated games in the industry..."

Uhh...no? The hell are you smoking?

$foo_shock has tremendous cachet. This *is* a highly-anticipated game.

Most anticipated games at the moment: Mass Effect 3, Star Wars ToR, Starcraft II The Heart of the Swarm, Elder Scrolls V Skyrim, Dead Island. You really want to throw another Bioshock game into that list?...

With Ken Levine back at the helm? Having seen it in action? After talking to the team about the game? I put "another Bioshock game" above most of those on your list. The good news is that ALL these games look great.

With Ken Levine back at the helm? Having seen it in action? After talking to the team about the game? I put "another Bioshock game" above most of those on your list. The good news is that ALL these games look great.

Fair enough. But IMO, the first Bioshock game was good, but not as "god sent" as everybody said. Dont get me wrong, it was good. Just not good enough for me to say that a third belongs in that list. You are right, though, and there are lots of hot IP on its way.

The problem with escort MISSIONS is that the game is not designed around the concept that the Character that they player is controlling is escorting a weaker character through dangerous areas. Instead escort missions force the player to use the existing concepts in the game to protect the other character which can end up requiring extreme skill or extreme luck. Not to mention that just because any given obstacle is fairly easy for the player alone to handle it doesn't mean that it will remain easy when the player is protecting/helping a weaker character.

When a game is designed around the concept then the developer tends to give either the player or the weaker character the tools to help them through. Resident Evil 4 gave the player audio and visual cues that the escortee was in trouble as well as the time to deal with the problem before a game over situation occurred. It also had areas where you could hide the girl while you dealt with the lethal problems then return to get her when the area was clear. Not once did I feel that escorting her was a pain akin to similar situations in other games.

As has also been said: Ico. I can't really comment to much as I haven't played very far into it, but it's a game that is lauded consistently through the years with a primary mechanic of protecting a weaker character.

The task of escort is not necessarily a bad thing. Someone already mentioned Ico - and that's also the first thing that came to my mind as well.

I think anything that requires coordination, including escort mission is a difficult problem for games with first-person perspectives. Waypoints and other indicators (like ones used in Portal 2 coop) try to make up for it, but moving mouse/joystick around just to look around really limits the player's situational awareness (on the other hand, these controllers are very good at the task of "aiming" - you don't swing your rifle/body around to look around the room in real life, do you? People separate the body from perspective, but in most games, it's the same thing or it's hard to control the two at the same time). Ico doesn't this problem because it uses bird's eye perspective. Maybe until FPS solves this problem, "escort mission" is always going to be a pain in the butt.

The task of escort is not necessarily a bad thing. Someone already mentioned Ico - and that's also the first thing that came to my mind as well.

I think anything that requires coordination, including escort mission is a difficult problem for games with first-person perspectives. Waypoints and other indicators (like ones used in Portal 2 coop) try to make up for it, but moving mouse/joystick around just to look around really limits the player's situational awareness (on the other hand, these controllers are very good at the task of "aiming" - you don't swing your rifle/body around to look around the room in real life, do you? People separate the body from perspective, but in most games, it's the same thing or it's hard to control the two at the same time). Ico doesn't this problem because it uses bird's eye perspective. Maybe until FPS solves this problem, "escort mission" is always going to be a pain in the butt.

It's already been solved, that's what this baby and games like ArmA2 are for >:)

Half-Life 2 episode 1 was all about escorting Alyx Vance throughout the single player campaign. That was the best game of the year. Also, in Bioshock, Elizabeth is there to help you not slow you down. If you think about it, she is escorting you not the other way around.

That being said, no one likes escort missions. When games shackle you to weaker characters and you're forced to keep them alive, or you have to be constantly aware of their position in relation to what you're doing, it puts a huge damper on the fun you're having exploring the game.

Weaker characters is not the root of the problem. The problem is AI or game mechanics. Bad AI companion always ruin the immersion and fun. Resident Evil 4 has escort system, and nobody said it wasn't fun.

With Ken Levine back at the helm? Having seen it in action? After talking to the team about the game? I put "another Bioshock game" above most of those on your list. The good news is that ALL these games look great.

Actually, I would not even put it on my list, no matter if top or bottom, which includes all the other games he mentioned. The first one was meh for the hour or so I tried to wrangle with it, and I did not even get to finish it since the controls could not freely be remapped. Broken game, not best game evar. Sorry.

Whaaa? They "learned their lesson" from the Little Sister maze? I felt the little twist at the end helped give the game a nifty balance. It wasn't too long and it was just right, especially after what players got at the end.

Though, I'm curious if they really "learned their lesson" since they decided to build pretty much the same system in Bioshock II. >.< (loved it, not complaining). The only difference: the Little Sister rode you like a donkey.

Could be worse: Resident Evil 4. The escort system designed so poorly, I gave up playing the game.

OK, I think we are by now familiar with the fact that "In 1998, Ask Ars was an early feature of the ...." etc etc, my RSS reader kindly suggets you retire the identical opening paragraph for all Ask Ars articles. Thanks!

OK, I think we are by now familiar with the fact that "In 1998, Ask Ars was an early feature of the ...." etc etc, my RSS reader kindly suggets you retire the identical opening paragraph for all Ask Ars articles. Thanks!

Agreed - or move it to the bottom, make it part of the technopaedia, or something

I wonder if the ending for this Bioshock finally confirms that the series is nothing but game after game of "[redacted]. roll credits".

Spoilers, dude, not everyone's had the chance to finish the first two (huzzah for a more-than-full-time job and a backlog stretching as far back as the PS1).

EDIT:Thanks for ruining the endings for me, by the way.

The game was released four years ago. It has sparked multiple sequels. If you truly intended to have a squeely unspoiled OMG moment at the end of the original Bioshock, then you have nobody to blame but yourself for putting it off this long.

Though, I'm curious if they really "learned their lesson" since they decided to build pretty much the same system in Bioshock II. >.< (loved it, not complaining). The only difference: the Little Sister rode you like a donkey.

Could be worse: Resident Evil 4. The escort system designed so poorly, I gave up playing the game.

Bioshock 2 wasn't done by Irrational. That was 2K Marin. From what I understood the Irrational guys had almost no input into the second one. They only knew what it was like when the game actually came out.

The game was released four years ago. It has sparked multiple sequels. If you truly intended to have a squeely unspoiled OMG moment at the end of the original Bioshock, then you have nobody to blame but yourself for putting it off this long.

I'm just finishing up Muramasa: The Demon Blade. I have yet to beat Bioshock 1 and 2, Mass Effect 1 and 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Devil May Cry 4, Super Mario Galaxy. Some of us do not have our lives to devote to video games, so I completely understand where sporkwitch is coming from. I get about two hours of video gaming a night.

With Ken Levine back at the helm? Having seen it in action? After talking to the team about the game? I put "another Bioshock game" above most of those on your list. The good news is that ALL these games look great.

Actually, I would not even put it on my list, no matter if top or bottom, which includes all the other games he mentioned. The first one was meh for the hour or so I tried to wrangle with it, and I did not even get to finish it since the controls could not freely be remapped. Broken game, not best game evar. Sorry.